Crime and Deviance | AQA GCSE Sociology (8192)
Crime and Deviance
- 96 questions
- 5 subtopics
- Paper 2
- Paper 2
Crime and Deviance is examined in Paper 2, The sociology of crime and deviance and social stratification.
It covers social construction of crime and deviance, formal and informal social control, explanations of criminal behaviour, patterns of crime and public debates and crime statistics and the dark figure.
Sample questions from Crime and Deviance
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Social construction of crime and deviance
How do feminists explain the social construction of crime and deviance?
Show the answer
Feminists argue that laws have mostly been made and enforced by men. Rape within marriage was not recognised as a crime in England and Wales until 1991. -
Social construction of crime and deviance
What is a master status?
Show the answer
A master status is a label that overrides all of a person's other identities. An ex-prisoner may be seen first as a criminal rather than as a parent or worker. Social stigma is the shame and disapproval that comes with such a label. -
Formal and informal social control
What is conformity?
Show the answer
Conformity is behaving in line with the norms and values expected by a group or society. Most people conform most of the time without any threat of punishment. -
Formal and informal social control
How did Heidensohn use control theory to explain women's low crime rate?
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Control theory holds that people offend when the controls on them are weak. Heidensohn argued that patriarchal society controls women more tightly than men, leaving them little chance to offend. -
Explanations of criminal behaviour
What is rebellion in Merton's theory?
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Rebels reject society's goals and means and replace them with new ones. Revolutionaries who want to create a different kind of society are an example. -
Explanations of criminal behaviour
What did Pat Carlen set out to explain in Women, Crime and Poverty (1988)?
Show the answer
Pat Carlen, a feminist, set out to explain why some working-class women turn to crime. Carlen interviewed 39 convicted women aged 15 to 46, several of them in prison. -
Patterns of crime and public debates
What do official statistics show about ethnicity and crime?
Show the answer
Home Office and Ministry of Justice figures show that Black people are over-represented in stop and search, arrests and prison. Sociologists disagree about whether this reflects offending or discrimination. -
Patterns of crime and public debates
What are the main criticisms of the prison system in England and Wales?
Show the answer
Prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded, and many released prisoners go on to reoffend. Critics argue that prison can act as a school for crime. Privatisation has placed some prisons under private companies, which critics say puts profit before rehabilitation.
The 5 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Social construction of crime and deviance | Crime and deviance as social constructs, moral panics and folk devils, deviancy amplification, and Becker's labelling theory, master status and deviant careers. | 18 |
| Formal and informal social control | Agents of social control, the criminal justice system and types of offence, sanctions, surveillance, the four perspectives on control, and Heidensohn's control theory of women's conformity. | 19 |
| Explanations of criminal behaviour | Merton's strain theory and five adaptations, Albert Cohen's status frustration and delinquent subcultures, and Carlen's interviews with women offenders on the class deal and gender deal. | 19 |
| Patterns of crime and public debates | Crime by class, gender, ethnicity and age, white-collar and corporate crime, the chivalry thesis, the Macpherson Report, sentencing, young offenders, prisons and media coverage of crime. | 22 |
| Crime statistics and the dark figure | Police recorded crime, reported and recorded crime, crime rates, the dark figure, the Crime Survey for England and Wales, self-report studies, and the perspectives on official statistics. | 18 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA GCSE Sociology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 578 questions with their answers.